Challenges Smallholding Coffee Farmers Confronting in Colombia

Örebro University Institution of Nature and technology

Sustainability evaluation: challenges smallholding coffee farmers confronting in Colombia

Date: 2019-09-22 Auther: Ida Stolt Althén Course title: Environmental Science, Grade: G Independent Project for the Degree of Supervisor: Johanna Björklund Bachelor, 15 Credits Examiner: Magnus Engwall Course code: MX107G Field mentor: Anders Heimer

Abstract Smallholding coffee farmers in Colombia face many obstacles to satisfy their needs due to a changed climate, a low coffee price and the lack of saved financial capital, that in turns creates a vulnerability to unpredictable events. An increased sustainability in those smallholding systems could therefore be crucial. The objectives of this study were to identify sustainability constraints experienced by smallholding coffee farmers among two cooperatives in Colombia. Likewise to explore the usefulness of FAO:s sustainability tool “Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA)” in the context of small-holding coffee systems. The study was conducted by the use of SAFA smallholder app and a participatory consultation, which evaluated four aspects of sustainability: environmental, social, economic and organizational governance, at male and female farmers from two coffee cooperatives. The results highlight that the farmers sustainability challenges were seen to be greatest due to climate and insects related losses and a low income. For them to meet these challenges, the financial capital was understood to be an obstacle. Obtaining external advice and help was often therefore seen as an opportunity to achieve those challenges. The SAFA tool gave in whole, a distinct illustration of the farm’s sustainability, while some parts of the configuration were perceived as not fully adapted to small farmers in developing countries.

Keywords: Sustainable agriculture, Smallholders, Coffee, SAFA, Participatory evaluation

Preface and acknowledgments This bachelor degree project has been possible thanks to a Minor Field Study scholarship funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and support from my field mentor Anders Heimer, Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan (SV).

Firstly, I would like to thank all the study participants for the welcoming invitation and for giving of their time to voluntary participate.

I also would like to thank Mario Fernando Gomez, Exporter of Special Coffee, Maria Lucia and Juvernal Ruíz Pérez, Corporación Autónoma Regional del Alto Magdalena (CAM) for giving their valuable time supporting study visits and sharing their knowledge.

I am grateful for all the support I have received from Anders Heimer, Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan (SV) and his wife Clarita Lugo Avila. Thank you for showing me around, sharing your contact network and helping with logistics. Without you, this study would not have been possible.

Finally, I would like to thank Johanna Björklund, Assistant Professor Örebro University, for all the support and advice during the writing of this thesis.

Index

Introduction...... 1 Background ...... 1 Coffee cultivation in Colombia...... 1 Smallholding coffee farmers...... 2 Sustainability...... 4 Objectives ...... 6 Res earch question ...... 6 Theoretical background...... 6 Sustainability assessment ...... 6 Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA)...... 7 Participatory evaluation methodology ...... 8

Method and material ...... 9 Study site ...... 9 Selection of participants ...... 10 Data collection ...... 11 Multiple methods ...... 11 SAFA survey...... 12 SAFA analysis ...... 12 Participatory consultation ...... 13

Results...... 13 Good governance ...... 1 Environmental integrity ...... 2 Economic resilience ...... 5 Social integrity ...... 8

Discussion...... 9 Method an d material discussion ...... 13 SAFA smallholder app ...... 13 The strengths and weaknesses of the study...... 15

Conclusions ...... 16

References ...... 18

Appendix 1...... 23

Appendix 2...... 37

Introduction

Background

Coffee cultivation in Colombia Colombia have a long history of cultivating coffee, with the beginning in the 18 centuries when the first seed was brought and planted in the country (Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia, 2011). But it wasn't until a century later the cultivation become one of the main building blocks for the country's economic and social development (ibid). Today Colombia is estimated to be the third largest coffee exporter country in the world with a production that have a significant impact on the country's economy (Landguiden, 2018). The coffee sector stands for 26 percent of the total agriculture employment with a substantial part in rural areas. This means that the production is important for the economy of many people living in rural areas (Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia, 2014).

Traditionally coffee worldwide have been cultivated in system with divers shading trees, that contributed to a rich diversity in organisms and plants (Perfecto et al., 2005). These systems that under the agriculture modernization and intensification developed into direct sun cultivation with a reduction of shading trees, with the aim to increase yields. (Perfecto et al., 1996). The newer system has however been related to a loss of biodiversity, a higher risk for soil erosion and higher susceptibility to pest and weed (Ibanez & Blackman, 2016). This system also needs a greater use of fertilizer and pesticides that can cause both environmental and human harm (Ibanez & Blackman, 2016).

The closeness to the equator, the Andes mountain, the oceans and the amazon in Colombia, creates climate conditions with high solar radiation and rain patterns favorable for the cultivation of coffee (Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia, n.d.). This is important since the climate is one of the critical aspects for the cultivation of coffee, as the coffee bush is sensitive to environmental stress consisting of low and high temperature peaks which easily can cause damages, affecting the productivity or even kill the crop (DaMatta & Ramalho, 2006). In Colombia its common with cultivation of the coffee variety arabica and the country stands as one of the greatest producers of it (Rueda & Lambin, 2013). The variety is known for giving high yield and a good quality coffee (Van der Vossen et al., 2015). However, it's also highly susceptible to major coffee diseases and pest, which in turn can

have high economic and ecological costs due to the need of chemical control (Van der Vossen et al., 2015).

Smallholding coffee farmers The coffee cultivation in Colombia consist to 96 percent of small farms with a land area of about 5 hectares (Moises, 2018). Among this kind of farms its commonly that the labor is provided by the family members (Pineda et al., 2019). The labor within the coffee growing families have historically been divided by gender, where the man has been seen as the farmer responsible for the productive field work, while the women has been seen as the helper responsible for the reproductive and caring domestic house work (Ramírez, 2015). Still on, the coffee production is permeated by this gender roles were the labor is divided between genders (Fridell, 2007; Pineda et al., 2019).

This gender roles within agriculture, makes it impossible for women to fully participate in the income generating activities, which in turns affect the women's own earnings and livelihood (FAO, 2011). In the coffee production among others it's preferable for many reasons to have greater inclusion of female farmers in the income generating activities (Pineda et al., 2019). For instance, it could result in extended knowledge and abilities for them in the production (Pineda et al., 2019). It would also have a significant impact on their bargaining power in the household and thereby their overall empowerment (FAO, 2011). The women's gendered responsibilities together with their engagement in the production also cause time poverty, due to the lack of hours that's left to dispose (Lyon et al., 2017). A time poverty that further entails limited abilities for them to fully participate in coffee organizational governance (Lyon et al., 2017). The participation in such organizations is important for women, as it could give a greater impact on the household’s decisions making and a greater control over their income (Lyon et al., 2017).

Smallholding coffee growers in developing countries stands in front of many challenges to fulfill a decent livelihood and well-being, with the changing climate as one of them (Harvey et al., 2014; Rahn et al., 2014). In Colombia the increasing temperature due to the climate changes and the nature phenomena La niña and El niño have a great impact on the country’s agriculture (FAO, 2017). It contributes to extreme drought, sky fall and extreme weather causing damages and losses (FAO, 2017). For the coffee cultivation this can give devastating

effects on the productivity and the quality, since the coffee crop is very sensitive to a shifting climate (Rahn et al., 2014; DaMatta et al,. 2006). Further it can also increase pests and diseases affecting the yield (Rahn et al,. 2014). The climate changes, which can be seen today, is assumed to increase in intensity in the future and will thereby give smallholding farmers far greater challenges (IPCC, 2018).

Another challenge is the low and volatile prices for green coffee, caused by structurally changes in the coffee value change (Ponte, 2001). Changes that have been argument to depend on the altered trade regime due to the 1990s liquidation of the international coffee agreement (ICA), which earlier determine the prices and export quotas, likewise the market liberalization and trading deregulation within producing countries. Nevertheless, the changes have also depended on the changed coffee consumption patterns and coffee corporate strategies (Ponte, 2001). Together this have led to oversupplies and decreased bargain powers, as well as greater income proportions from the value chain staying in consuming countries and less in producing countries (Ponte, 2001). The income proportions received from the value chain in the coffee grocery retail have further over the years increased for importing countries while not for the coffee farmers (table 1.) (Samper & Quiñones-Ruiz, 2017). Beside the low and volatile price smallholders in developing countries often facing obstacles through lack of saved money, small opportunities to having credits and enough food which cause a vulnerability to unpredictable crisis (Méndez et al., 2010). A vulnerability that’s is even bigger for smallholding women due to institutional and norm-based discrimination, where they are facing major obstacles regarding access to land, credits, market information, agriculture training and technology that affect their overall production (Croppenstedt et al., 2013; UNDP, 2016).

Figure 1. Value distribution in coffee grocery retail segment (Leibovich, 2016 cited in Samper & Quiñones-Ruiz, 2017)

Sustainability Sustainability is a multifaceted concept that can be viewed from different perspective depending on how its applied and by whom (Robert et al., 2005). A commonly used and wide definition is the one arrived from the United Nations report Our common future "Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (UN, 1987). Since then, the concept further has developed into three main pillars : social, ecological and economical sustainability (Robert et al., 2005). The inclusion of all those pillars are fundamental when talking about sustainability as they are interfering and carry on each other (Kates et al., 2001). The essence of sustainability is to meet humans needs and at the same time preserve the system of the earth (Kates et al., 2001).

Within agriculture, sustainability can be described as systems that aim to use natural resources and services in the best manner while not damaging them (Pretty, 2008). For that

achievement Pretty (2008) argue that there are some key components that need to be considered. Those are: 1) An integration of ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, nitrogen fixation and soil regulation. 2) A reduced use of non-renewable inputs harming the environment and humans. 3) The encouragement of farmers to use their own knowledge, to improve self-reliance and thereby a greater independence from external costly inputs. 4) A collective gathering of people's different capacities to work and solve existing problems in agriculture regarding the use of natural resources, throughout for example new partnerships between various institutions.

Sustainable agriculture does not, however, intend to exclude already existing technology and practices. As long as these can maintain productivity without causing major environmental damage there are likely carriers of some sustainability benefits (Pretty, 2008). In addition, different locations require different adaptations and methods adapted to their conditions and circumstances (Pretty, 2008; Hayati et al, 2010). This means that there is no specific farming strategy that could solve or sustain agriculture, due to the complexity of agriculture involving social, economic and environmental interactions in rural areas (Pretty, 1994). A system- oriented approach includ ing all these parts is therefore needed (Pretty, 1994).

The increase of agriculture sustainability is crucial to small-holding systems in developing countries, since it can reduce the vulnerability (Pretty et al., 2003). This as a sustainable agriculture could contribute to an increased asset base of natural, social and human capital, that thereby can lead to an increased food production, stronger social organizations and local capacity to solve problems that in turns improve rural people’s livelihoods and welfare (Pretty et al., 2003). Moreover, the reduction of vulnerability is also related to the systems resilience which defines the capacity to withstand and adopt to disturbance, while still providing services and goods over time (Tendall et al., 2015). A resilient system has the ability to maintain a sustainable food production and thereby contribute to food security (Tendall et al., 2015). As the access to financial capital often is a main obstacle for small farmers in developing countries, external help would be needed for transit to a sustainable production (Pretty, 2008). Action programs supporting small farmers financially and guidelines giving directions can therefore be required to achieve a sustainable agriculture (Pretty, 2008).

Objectives The aim of the study is to identify sustainability constraints experienced by smallholding coffee farmers among two cooperatives in Colombia. Another aim is to explore the usefulness of FAO:s sustainability tool “Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA)” in the context of small-holding coffee systems.

Research question Which are the major ecological, social and economic sustainability challenges confronting smallho ld ing coffee farmers in Colombia? Do the challenges differ between female and male farmers? What is required to meet the challenges? Do SAFA give important information for coffee smallholders sustainability improvements?

Theoretical background

Sustainability assessment Measuring sustainability in agriculture systems is complex because it comprises millions of different components, both living and nonliving material as well as the humans in the system (Bell and Morse, 2008). For that reason, it's not possible to measure all the components, instead the focus should preferably be on key components and interactions that illustrate the system as a hole (Bell and Morse, 2008). There are many different tools and methods regarding assessment of agriculture sustainability already developed, differing depending on different scholars (Hayati et al., 2010; Van Passel & Meul, 2012). A common approach is related to the use of sustainability indicators (Bell and Morse 2008), where the indicators gives an insight of the systems overall function, that easy can communicate the complexity in fewer number (Bell and Morse 2008; Patterson, 2006). In turn this give valuable information for improving decision making (Patterson, M. 2006; Shields, Šolar & Martin, 2002). This information can also contribute to societal changes by communicating it to the public in an understandable and relatable way (Patterson, M. 2006; Shields, Šolar & Martin, 2002).

Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA) In the absence of an assessment tool including all the sustainability pillars along the food and agriculture value chain, Food and Agricultural Organization (2014) developed a global holistic framework called SAFA. The framework built on already existing sustainability reference documents, standards, indicators and tools with the objectives to create a standardized system and a common understanding of sustainability, suitable for all contexts and sizes of operations. SAFA consists of four sustainability dimensio ns : good governance, environmental integrity, economic resilience and social well-being. Those dimensions are defined with underlying themes, sub-themes and indicators. The themes representing the goals that need to be addressed for assessing sustainability. Within the themes, there are sub-themes with individual issues. Each sub-theme describes the sustainability performance that needs to be achieved for the individual issue. The sub-themes are then having specific indicators with measurable criteria’s enabling the calculation of the sustainability performance for the sub-theme. The calculation of the performance is then giving values on a five-rating scale: Best, Good, Moderate, Limited, Unacceptable. (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2014).

In order to suit smallholders, the assessment tool have been adjusted into a mobile application, called SAFA smallholders app (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015). The mobile application constitutes of a survey based on the sustainability dimensions: good governance, environmental integrity, economic resilience and social well-being, as well as themes, indicators and survey questions. The connection among those are illustrated in figure 2. where the dimension social wellbeing is exemplified. This dimens io n among other include the theme decent livelihood, this theme moreover includes three indicators which are quality of life, wage level and capacity development. The indicator then includes one or more survey questions. In this example, the indicator wage level consists of two survey questions; producer living wage and workers living wage. Those two survey questions examine if the farmers themselves and their workers have access to three meals a day, suitable clothing, health care, education for children, sufficient clean drinking water, safe transport, a safe and protected house, adequate light and cooling/heating, 10% saving from the income. The farmers access of those factors in the two survey questions then gives an indicatio n of their sustainability performance. To fit small scale producer’s context and size the sub-themes have been removed and the themes and indicators have been modified and contextualized (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015). Furthermore, the measurements also have been

simplified to three ratings, those are: good, limited and unacceptable (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015). The adjustments have been done since small scale producer may not have resources to engage detailed measurements and as it easily indicates which sustainability improvements that need to be performed (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015). This assessment tool aims to identify strong and weak spots regarding the sustainability performance, that will generate valuable information for learning and self- improvement (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015). In this study the SAFA smallholder app have been used for the sustainability evaluations on smallholding coffee farms, since it's preferable developed to fit smallholders and comprises all the sustainability dimensions, which could contribute to a broad picture of the sustainability challenges they are facing.

Figure 2. Example of dimension, themes, indicators and questions from SAFA smallholder app (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015)

Participatory evaluation methodology Since sustainable agriculture is a wide concept, viewed differently depending on the context, its essentially to seek for multiple perspective and therefore to involve different actors and groups (Pretty, 1994). An approach to achieve that is through participation methodologies, which therefore have been applied to this study. Such methods are commonly used by developing agencies including NGO’s, government departments and banks, with objectives to justify external agencies decision making and contributing to local capacity and self-reliance (Pretty, 1994). The outset for those methods is to engage the end-user in the research, taking in their ideas, opinions, reviews and conductions in the priority (Lilja & Bellon, 2013; Pretty, 1994). In the agricultural context this can contribute to the identification of needs and opportunities that can generate new information and innovations for the enhancement of farmers performance (Van de Fliert & Braun, 2002). Moreover, it encourages the co-learning

and share of knowledge that could strengthening the ability to handle uncertainties and thereby increasing the systems resilience (Trimble & Lázaro, 2014) The participatory methods consists of different levels of participation and the one applied in this study was participation by consultation, as it was best suitable for the design of the study. Participation by consultation is described as a participation where people are being consulted of external agents, listening in their point of views (Pretty, 1994). The external agents then define problems and solutions, that can be highlighted of the people's responses (Pretty, 1994). This participation does not include any share of decision making and the professionals are under no obligation to take onboard people's views (Pretty, 1994).

Method and material

Study site The study took place in the department of Huila in the Andean region of Colombia, from the 1th the April to the 26 th of May 2019. This department was of interest because of their important role being the third greatest coffee producer in Colombia (Colombia Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia, n.d.). In the department two different munic ipa ls were included in the investigation, Neiva located in the northern part and Pitalito in the southern part (see map). Neiva are situated at 442 meter above sea level with an average temperature at 27-degree Celsius (Wikipedia, 2019) Pitalito is located 1318 meter above the sea level and with an average temperature at 21-degree celsius (Somos Pitalio Terriroio Ideal, 2016).

Figure 3. Map showing the studied areas

Selection of participants The study objects were chosen based on a goal-oriented selection and consisted of coffee farmers from two cooperatives, one of which consisted of female farmers located in Pitalito and the other mostly consisted of male farmers located in Neiva. This selection was made to make a comparison based on gender roles and to answer the research questions (Bryman, 2018). The collection of the participating farmers was made on their willingness to participate and that they fulfilled the participating criteria’s which were: coffee as the main crop, a coffee cultivation size up to 5 ha and member of the cooperative. The final selection consisted of four male farmers from the cooperative with mostly men and five female farmers from the female cooperative. All participating farms except one, lived together and shared their farms with their spouse, where they had separate cultivation plots. The coffee variety cultivated on the farms was arabica. Beside the coffee, all farms cultivated other crops, mostly for self-consumption, but a few also had some of those crops for sale aside from the coffee. There were also two of the farms that produced livestock. For an overall description of the participating farms see table 1.

Table 1. Description of participating farms

Data collection

Multiple methods In this study a method triangulation approach has been used to evaluate the sustainability on coffee farms in two different areas in Huila department Colombia. A method triangulation refers to the use of more than one method, which enable to see the studied phenomena from different perspective and thereby contribute to a wider range of data than by only one method (Carter at al., 2014). The methods in this study were of both quantitative and qualitative character. The quantitative method aimed to give numerical data and the qualitative aimed to give data of the participants perceptions of their reality in word.

The data collection methods consisted of the SAFA smallholder survey and a participatory consultation. The SAFA smallholders survey of a quantitative character, was used to evaluate the weak sustainability spots on the farms from an environmental, social, economic and governance perspective (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015). The survey was then analyzed and calculated according to the SAFA smallholder app, with the results transferred into tables and spider diagrams. Since the SAFA smallholder app aims to indicate on strong

and weak sustainability spots, the analysis does not provide accurate measurement values. The results from the survey then served as topics for the participatory consultation, which constituted of semi structured interviews with a qualitative character.

Before the data collection occurred, the participants were informed about the aim of the study through the cooperatives presidents as well as by me and my contact person during visits of the cooperatives. All participants also got informed about the ethical principle, that their participating was on a free willing basis, that they could discontinue if they wanted and that the data will be kept anonymous and only for the aim of this study (Bryman, 2018). After that the participant had the option to give their consent to participate or not (Bryman, 2018). Because of my inadequate Spanish all the communication during the visits and the data collection was accomplished in an interaction with my field mentor or a university student.

SAFA survey The survey consisted of 21 themes, 44 indicators and 100 survey questions. The survey question comprised either single or multip le-c ho ice answers. Question that was not applicable in the farm’s context was excluded under the survey. Because of constraints with the SAFA smallholder mobile application the infilling of the survey was carried out manually in paper form translated to Spanish (appendix 1.). The surveys took place at each participants house for the female farmers while the surveys for the male participants took place in one of the participants houses with each participant individually. Before the survey question started general information about the farm was gathered. Thereafter the questions one by one was read out loud for the participants and filled in, with the intention to make it easier for the participants to understand the questions.

SAFA analysis The data was analyzed and calculated manually for each survey follow by the instructions from SAFA smallholder app (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015). The calculation was done by taking the average score of the survey questions, indicators and themes. First the average score of the survey questions included in the indicators were calculated. This by the multiplication of the questions answer, which had scores of either three (good), two (limited) or one (unacceptable). Some questions were additionally weighted as two since they had a

higher impact on the sustainability which doubled the score. Then the average score from the indicators included in the themes were calculated, followed by the calculation of the average score of themes included in the dimension. From the scorings, the questions, indicators themes and dimensions got a threshold value of either good (green), limited (yellow) or unacceptable (red), which illustrating their sustainability performance. Questions that were excluded have not been taking into account into the calculation. The threshold values of the dimensions were then transferred into tables and the themes included in each dimens io n into a spider diagram. The use of visual diagram is a preferable tool when communicating sustainability data to farmers, as it can give a comprehensive overview and comparison over different sustainability aspects (Van Passel & Meul, 2012).

Participatory consultation The participatory consultation was made individually with the participant and started with a demonstration and explanation of the different sustainability themes in the participant spider diagram. After the explanation the red scored themes and questions were discussed throughout a recorded interview based on semi structured questions. The semi structured interview question was preferable in this study since it gave space to ask following-up questions who made it possible to get deeper information of the participants thoughts and what's meaningful to them (Bryman, 2018). The interview questions were designed both to seek into the main sustainability challenge and for the participant to start thinking about ways to improve it (Appendix 2.). The questions were also adapted to each participant results from the SAFA evaluation. The recorded data was then transcribed for each farm.

Results The results from the SAFA smallholder evaluation will be presented in tables and spider diagrams showing each farmers sustainability threshold value on the dimensions and the themes. The good threshold values representing the sustainability strengths, while the limited threshold values representing that the sustainability may need to be improved and the unacceptable representing weak sustainability spots, that are in need of improvements. This will then be followed by an interpretation of the SAFA results and the insights from the participatory consultation, that will be structured under each associated sustainability dimension.

Table 2. The male cooperatives sustainability dimensions

Table 3. The female cooperatives sustainability dimensions

Figure 4. The male cooperatives sustainability themes. The inner circle shows the unacceptable threshold valued themes, the middle the limited and the outer the good

Figure 5. The female cooperatives sustainability themes

Good governance This dimension addressed the sustainability regarding the themes corporate ethics which was about the farms stated goals and values. Accountability that concerned the availability of documents about the farm’s products and processes. Participation, the belongings to an agricultural organization and its value as well as conflict resolutions. Rule of law, about the tenure rights and the legitimacy to the law. Holistic management, the plans for risks minimizing and sustainability improvements. Among the two cooperatives this was the dimension where most farmers had a good threshold value (table 2., 3.), which indicate that many of the farmers had strong sustainability performances. Besides that, weak sustainability spots could be found at the male farmer 1 and the female farmer 6 and 9, which had the theme accountability in the unacceptable threshold value (figure 4., 5.). In relation to this one, farmer 1 explained that he didn't had his costs and records of production arranged and structured. The main reason for this, he explained was that he did not had the knowledge or information on how to properly arrange it. The female farmer 6 and 9 however, expressed that they usually didn't collect or saved information about the costs of their production. They said it were time extensive keeping track of the costs all the time and that they didn't know how to organize it. Nevertheless, they meant it would be advantageous to organize it. Farmer 6 pointed out that it could make them see if the farm was going forward or not and thereby be able to get information which part of the farm that need to be improved further.

One result that differed from all other farmers in this dimension was that the male farmer 1 had the theme holistic management in the unacceptable threshold value (figure 4.). This theme was about if the farmers had a plan for minimizing risks and how they were improving

the sustainability on the farms. Farmer 1 explained that he did not had a farm management plan on his farm since he didn´t know how to implement it. He also said that not having a plan led to difficulties in controlling what would need to be improved. The other farmers from both cooperatives, however expressed that they had a plan for how they would improve and make the farms sustainable.

Environmental integrity Under this dimension, the following themes was concerned for addressing the farms sustainability. Atmosphere, that concerned the greenhouse gases emissions and the air prevention practices. Water, the conservation and pollution prevention of the water. Land, the soil improve me nts and the land conservation and rehabilitation practices. Biodiversity, the ecosystem diversity, the species conservation and the use of seeds and breeds. Materials and energy, the nutrient balance, the use of energy and of renewable/recycled materials, the food losses and waste reductions. Animal welfare, the animal health and welfare. In this dimension all the farmers in the two cooperatives had limited threshold values (table 2., 3.). This result highlights a sustainability performance that further could be improved for the farmers. The frequently occurring subject relating to this performance were by the farmers described as the climate and the insects. They meant, that all those factors were challenging which damaged the crops and affected the production in a negative way. The male farmer 2 pointed out that it was difficult to mitigate the future risks, he didn't know how he would manage the climate, the soil fertility and the diseases it may bring. About the climate the female farmer 8 described it as unpredictable, that caused crop losses for her both in the summer and winter time. Simila r ly, the female farmer 7 expressed the climate as not helpful for their cultivation and a challenge they were facing. Other challenges affecting the productivity was the insects. The female farmer 9 described them as rapid destroyers of the crops and hard to handle. That they damaging the crops did also farmer 7 express, she also pointed out that they made it hard for them to have a good production. Of that reason she described the importance of fighting them.

The methods of handling the insects on the farms were related to the theme water and concerned both the management of pesticides on the farms and the use of water. For getting a good or a limited threshold value on this theme the chemical pesticides would not be used or

only occasionally. It also required that water conservation practices were used and that the irrigation was done by a drip-system or manually. Additionally, it also required that the cultivation and the animals not were directly next to natural water ways. On this theme, farmer 9 and 6 had an unacceptable threshold value and thereby a weak sustainability spot (figure 5.). For farmer 9 this was since she explained that she continuous used chemical pesticides and that waterways were next to her cultivations. This was for farmer 6 also since she said that she continuous use chemical pesticides and that she did not use any methods to conserve water on the farm. About the water conservation she explained that she was not aware it was something she could do on the farm, because no one had given her the information, therefore she didn't know the good aspects of doing it either. According to the chemica l pesticides both farmer 6 and 9 meant that they were the easiest and cheapest way of handling the problems the insects otherwise caused. Farmer 6 also said that it was hard to find other pesticides than chemical and that she didn't had information about them. The use of chemical pesticides was also a common method for the other female farmers. Although farmer 7 used the chemical pesticides to control the insects, she expressed them as still prevalent in the cultivation destroying their crops. Furthermore, she said it could be due to that they didn't apply the pesticides on the right time. The use of chemical pesticides was also common among the male farmers. According to farmer 2, 3 and 4 the application of chemical pesticides was the method they used for controlling diseases and insects on their farms. Farmer 4 mentioned that this was the most effective and fastest way of doing it, other ways of controlling the insects would have taking longer time and he would need to hire workers.

Although the chemical pesticides were used by farmers from both cooperatives today, there were a desire for many of them to reduce the use. Farmer 9 declared that she would like to use natural pesticides and pronounced that it was important for protecting the environment, the animals and her family. According to her current use, she pointed out a concern of the contamination she contributes to and explained that it not was preferable for the environment and for her not being able to have the coffee certified. A certification she meant would reduce the environmental damages due to pesticides and giving her a better value when selling the coffee. The use of chemical pesticides was a tricky topic for farmer 7, she meant that it would be beneficial to replace it, but she wasn't sure how to do it. She said that one way would be to receive knowledge about other methods eliminating the insects. Replacing the chemical pesticides was also mentioned by farmer 6, she said that she would like to use a less harmful

option. The chemical pesticide was not preferable according to the male farmer 3 either, but he meant that it was needed.

On the water theme, the male farmer 4 also had a weak sustainability spot, as he had it in the unacceptable threshold value (figure 4.). This theme was related to that he surfaced irrigated his crops and that his animals were pasturing next to natural waterways. Farmer 4 explained that he under the summer period needed to surface irrigate his crops, since the weather was drier that time of year. He explained that the irrigation method he uses, not was the most preferable one, he would like to have a drip irrigation system but couldn’t because of economic obstacles. Likewise, the irrigation, the main reason for having the animals pasturing next to natural waterways, he said was that, his economy not was enough for build a cowshed to them. Moreover, he also had a weak sustainability spot on the theme land, since it for him was in the unacceptable threshold value (figure 4.). This theme was due to that his soil was bare between cropping cycles and that he had converted natural land into production. According to him he did not had the possibility to grow trees that covered the soil and he also explained that he had converted forest into coffee cultivation on his farm. A convertation that also had been done on farm 2, but there instead from pastureland. Both of them saw it as necessary to getting an increased coffee production and thereby more income. Among the female farmers, some of them had also converted forest into production, with the aim of producing more crops. Farmer 9 meant this was due to the small size of the farm and the need to cultivating self-consumption crops. Regarding the convertation, farmer 5 explained it was a difficult topic, she said that she needed to do it to be able to feed her grandsons and to earn more since she had no opportunity to buy more land. She therefore meant that she had been forced to remove some trees on her farm, since they not brought any income.

The contribution with more trees in the cultivations was an improvement generally occurring among the cooperatives. Farmer 5. implied that having more trees and crops on her farm would be a good idea since it would benefit the environment. To have that opportunity she said that she needed financial help from the government or other people. Trees was also favorable according to farmer 4, he explained that they could give the cultivation shade and the family fruits. For protection of the environment farmer 9 said that she would like to conserve the land that she has by creating zones with natural habitats. Beside trees, other improvements were according to all the farmers to have a good control of the insects and caring about the soil’s fertility. For improving the farms, the farmers in the male cooperative

pointed out a desire to develop their own knowledge regarding the coffee cultivation. Farmer 1 described that they could have training meetings where people could come and teach them how to develop their cultivations. Farmer 4 also mention that an idea was to find people that could help them. In the female cooperative this desire occurred but was according to this dimension not as pronounced as for the male farmer.

Economic resilience On this dimension the following themes were included to address the sustainability on the farms. Investment, that concerned the participatio n in community projects and the consciousness of the farm’s profitability. Vulnerability, the number of main crops, the access of buyers and of informal and formal loans, the opportunity for having insurances and the risk management. Product quality and information, the knowledge about hazardous pesticides, the quality of food and the opportunities for having certified products. Local economy, the access of local workforce. Nearly all the farmers in both cooperatives had this dimension in the limited threshold value (table 2., 3.). Differing from that were the female farmer 9 who had it in the unacceptable threshold value and the female farmer 8 who had it in the good threshold value (table 3.). This result indicates that the farmers in both cooperatives have a sustainability performance that could be improved while one of the farmers from the female cooperative had a weak sustainability performance that are in need of improvements. According to this dimension, the coffee price was mentioned several times by the farmers in the male cooperative as a limitation, due to the fact that it was not good or enough. Farmer 1 meant that the income he received was inadequate to fulfill his and the family's needs. He said that one way for him to increase it, was if the costs of the production would become lower, because the costs right now were so high in comparison to the income he got. Not receiving a proper price for the coffee were seen as an obstacle for the farmers in the female cooperative as well. Farmer 9 meant that the prices for the production increases every year while the profit was kept low, for that reason she explained that the revenue was rarely covering the costs of the production. Like the male farmer 1 she meant that lower production costs would be preferable and in turn give her family a better life quality. The farmers in the male the cooperative also highlighted that the coffee price made it more difficult to expand the coffee cultivation and thereby receive more income. For the female cooperative, on the

other hand this diffic ulty was not something that was mentioned, but as they also perceived the coffee income as insufficient, it can thus be assumed that this also could have occurred.

The low income received for the coffee furthermore made it impossible for the female farmers to save money. All the money farmer 9, 6 and 5 received were invested in the farm, they meant that the cost was high for having a living and producing the coffee. The low price was also one of the main reasons that none of the male farmers had the opportunity to save money or had saved money. Farmer 2 and 4 said that the only way they could save money were if they had a greater income, because right now they spend all their money in the farm. In contrast farmer 3, said that he needed to be more effective on the farm to have the ability to save money. The male farmers specifically mentioned, that not having saved money had a great impact on how to handle future risks. Farmer 3 described it as problematic, because he didn't have friends, family or institutions to receive money from if an emergency happened, only the bank. To get a loan from the bank he further explained that there were requirements he needed to fulfill, that the money might not showed up when he needed them and that he needed to pay them back.

Common for the participating farmers in both cooperatives were that none of them had a crop related insurance covering for losses. The male farmer 3 articulated that it not was common to have one, that it was many requirements to fulfill, that they were costly and that he lacked the information about them. The other male farmers also mentioned that they didn't had the information as well as the knowledge to manage the insurance. Likewise, for the female farmers, the main cause for not having an insurance were the lack of information. They said that they did not know the costs for having one or how to apply for it. Some of the female farmers also mentioned that they did not know any enterprises that could offer an insurance that would be advantageous for crop losses.

The farmers in the female cooperative pointed out the quality as an important factor that could increase the coffee price, but to improve it they also needed more support. Above all they highlighted a need of support in form of counselling, how they could develop their cultivations. Farmer 8 meant that the price she received not mirrored the coffee quality she thought she had. Additionally, she meant that there were few buyers that gave a good price. For increasing the price, she pointed out the need of finding an enterprise, that could sell her coffee based on the quality she thought she had. If she managed that, she meant that she

could receive a better price for her coffee. She also said that it could be difficult, but with support from the cooperative it would be possible. Regarding the coffee quality, farmer 9 meant that she could raise it by improving her production processes. She explained that she would like to have her soil analyzed which according to her would give indications if the soil fertility needed to be adjusted for achieving an optimal crop growth, as well as she liked to reduce the use of chemicals in the cultivation. These improvements could according to her, contribute to a higher coffee quality and thus increasing the value of her coffee, as well as interest more buyers within the export market. But to do that she also said that she needed help from the government with information about how to manage it. Searching for help and getting tools to improve the farms income were also something farmer 5 and 6 described. Farmer 5 said that an idea was to look for help finding another crop that would increase the income. Because she thought the coffee price would decrease and they didn't have the competence to improve the coffee quality to increase the money received. The male farmers on the other hand, didn't mention the quality as an important factor to increase the income. Instead they indicated on improvements to increase their productivity on the farms. Farmer 1 meant that buying more land and sell more coffee would be a good idea, while farmer 3 was thinking about buying animals to later sell.

The weak sustainability performance that mere occurred for the female farmer 9 on this dimension, was interlinked with the theme investment (figure 5.). A theme that partly was about if the farmers participated in welfare project to invest their time, skills, money or products to develop their local communities. Since farmer 9 described that she did not participated in this kind of project in her community her value become unacceptable. Furthermore, this performance also was interlinked with the theme local economy, that she and the female farmer 5 and 7 had in the unacceptable threshold value (figure 5.). This theme aimed to examine if the farmers hired local workers and thereby contribute to the local economy. According to the farmers, hiring from the local community was difficult, they pointed out that the people in the local community had their own crops to take care of and they therefore needed to hire workers from outside the community. Even if they saw difficulties, they strived to hire people from the local community and they therefore had been talking in the cooperative about how to manage it. According to farmer 5 an idea was to share a local laborer and make schedules to rotate them on the farms, to contribute with efficiency to both the workers and the farmers. To get further with this improvement farmer 7 meant that they firstly needed to start building relations with the people in the local community.

Hiring from the local community was according to the male cooperatives not seen as an obstacle, where all of them perceived that they had the possibilities to do it.

Social integrity Within this dimension the following themes were included to address the sustainability. Decent livelihood, which concerned the quality of life, the wage levels and the capacity to develop. Fair trading practices, the relation to buyers and to the established price. Labor rights, the employment relations, the workers right to negotiate, the existens of forced labor and child labor. Equity, the discrimination of groups and the gender equality. Human health and safety, the workplaces safety and health provisions. Cultural diversity, the food sovereignty and the existens of indigenous knowledge. The farmers results of this dimension were consisting of both good and unacceptable threshold values for the cooperatives, where the unacceptable threshold value was slightly more occurring (table 2., 3.). To tell from this result is that there are improvements that could be needed for some of the farmers while some of them already has a strong sustainability. Moreover, there was weak sustainability spots occurring at both the male farmer 1 and the female farmer 9 as they had the theme fair trading practices in the unacceptable threshold value (figure 4., 5.). The fair-trading practices theme concerned if the farmers had a mutual relation to the suppliers and buyers where the farmers understood the buyer’s price and had information about the market prices. According to farmer 1 and 9 they didn´t know how the buyers established their prices or had knowledge about the market prices. They said that they didn't know who to talk with, to get the information. Furthermore, the female farmer 5 as well said that she didn't had insight on how the price was established.

The safety on the farms was a common denominator according to this dimension among the farmers in the male cooperative. Many of them perceived that they not were prepared for how to avoid risks and handle emergencies. The main reason for this was that it had not been any emergencies so far. Farmer 4 described that it was not usual to have first aid kit on the farms and farmer 2 said that they had one in the cooperatives house before, but it was destroyed because no one used it. He also said that the workers applying the pesticide on his farm, did not wear the uniform, they thought it was too warm and uncomfortable. In the female cooperative on the contrary, not being prepared for avoiding risks and handle emergencies

only occurred on farm 6, while the other female farmers considered themselves prepared to deal with these types of situations. Like the male farmers, the female farmer 6 explained that she didn't thought about risks and emergencies that could happen at the farm with the cause that nothing had appeared so far. She also said that she didn't thought about what could happen in the future.

At most farms, the decision making regarding the farm's significant crops were made in a consultation between the husband and the wife in the household. On the male farm 3 and the female farm 6 in contrast, this decision making was centralized to the husband and not shared in the household as the other farms. Farmer 3 explained that he was the one in charge over the household’s decisions, because his wife didn't have the knowledge and was always busy in the house work. Even though, he thought it would be a good idea if his wife would start participating both in the decision making and in the farm work, since that might raise more income due to one more person doing the farm work. Farmer 6 however described that it was not of her interested being involved in the decision making and that she perceives her knowledge about the farm and the crops as inadequate.

Discussion The sustainability challenges were similar for the coffee farmers in the male and female cooperatives in many cases, while some differed. The results highlight that environmental integrity and economic resilient were those dimensions who consisted of the greatest proportion of challenges among the farmers from both cooperatives. This since almost all farmer had a limited threshold value in those dimensions which indicate on a sustainability performance that need improvements, while the good governance and social integrity dimensions instead consisted of more good threshold values among the farmers which indicate on a stronger sustainability.

Regarding the ecological dimension, the farmer saw the climate as a great obstacle since it caused damages and crop losses. This could might reflect the effects of the climate changes as well as of el nino and la nina which cause extreme weather events and thereby damages and losses in the Colombian agriculture (FAO, 2017). According to farmer 8 the weather- related losses occurred yearly and was difficult to anticipate and prepare for. Weather related

losses in the coffee cultivation can occur since the crops is highly sensitive to climate variabilities which influence the productivity and the quality (DaMatta et al,. 2006; Rahn et al,. 2014). Frequently occurring crop losses that is hard to predict could further have a great impact on the farmers economical vulnerability due to a continuously lost income, especially since the financial resources provided by the coffee cultivation was perceived as a highly limiting factor according to the economic resilient dimension. Both farmer 1 and 9 expressed that the coffee income they received wasn't proper to satisfy their family's needs. A struggle was that the expenditures nearly covered the income and they would need lower production cost to increase their income.

The low income given by the coffee cultivation also resulted in impossibilities for the farmers to have savings or to save. The lack of savings could for the farmers in consistent with Méndez et al,. (2010) have a great influence on how to handle unpredictable events. Farmer 3 illustrated this by expressing that he has nowhere to turn except the bank if something unpredictable happened. He also expressed that it not was entirely uncomplicated to get a loan and that it would take time before the money arrive. In order to achieve saved money farmer 2 and 4 saw an increased coffee price as necessary. The low coffee price is according to Ponte (2001) arisen from changed trading conditions and consumption patterns which in turns have caused an oversupply, a decreased bargaining power and that major parts of the value chains incomes goes to countries where the coffee is consumed. In case of the farmers, it can therefore be difficult to influence this situation as there are strong trading and consumptions structures behind the low price. Greater pressure should preferably therefore be on politicians and those who have the mandate to make a change, especially in consuming countries since they are a great part of it.

All together those economic factors impact their prerequisites to face unpredictable crisis that in turns could affect their livelihoods and wellbeing. For example, it could be hard to face the effects of a changed climate that contribute to extreme weather events damaging or destroying the harvest (FAO, 2017), when not having safety to rely on. Further the climate changes could also increase the pest in the cultivation (Rahn, et al. 2014). That could have devastating effects on the farmers, as they in the ecological integrity dimension highlighted the insects already as a major challenge due to the damages, they caused their cultivations. For preventing the damages, it was therefore common among the farmers to use chemical pesticides. The challenges with the insects and their use of chemical control, could be related

to their cultivation of the coffee variety Arabica. This variety was according to Van der Vossen et al. (2015) highly sensitive to pest that creates a requirement of chemical control. A requirement they meant moreover can give costly economic and ecological impacts.

There were few differences that appeared between the cooperatives regarding the sustainability challenges. Those who appeared was for the cooperatives related to the possibilities to hire labor from the local community and the safety on the farms. One of the differences occurred within the economic resilience dimension, where the majority of the farmers in the female cooperative had unlike the male cooperative the theme local economy in the unacceptable threshold value. This theme was related to that the females saw difficulties in hiring local workers, which did not, however, appear as a diffic ulty in the male cooperative. A difference like this might depend on the availability of working force in the different areas the cooperatives were located. Or that the female farmers had harder to hire due to institutional and norm-based discrimination (Croppenstedt et al., 2013; UNDP, 2016). Thus, having the opportunity to hire workers from the local community could be essential for creating sustainability. This as it could create more collaborations and interactions among actors in the local community, that could benefit the development of ideas and knowledge to solve challenges within agriculture (Pretty, 1994).

The other occurring differences were found in the social integrity dimension where none of the farmers from the male cooperative were prepared to face risk and emergencies, while this only occurred for one of the farmers in the female cooperative as the others saw themselves as prepared. For all the male farmers and one of the female farmers this was due to that accidents had not appeared on their farms so far. One possible explanation to this difference, could be referred to the female gender role which is characterized by being caring (Ramírez, 2015). For the female farmers this gender role might therefore generally influenced them which thereby made them more conscious to prepare for risks. To not being prepared for risks could have a negative impact on the farmers and their workers if the accident happens. This could result in social and economic cost due to their well-being and financial resource, that already is scarce.

However, the arisen differences between the male and female farmers in this study cannot be confirmed to correlate with the gender roles that exist in agriculture (Fridell, 2007; Pineda et al., 2019). To be able to confirm that, more information about the farmers would have been

needed. Among other things it would have been advantageous to seek into what work tasks that was done between the male and the female farmers, as that could have demonstrated if the farmers had been impacted by the gender roles (Ramírez, 2015). As the difference between the male and female farmers further was few, this result does not indicate that women face greater challenges on the basis of institutional and norm-based discrimination (Croppenstedt et al., 2013; UNDP, 2016). On the other hand, all the female farmers shared their agriculture with their husbands which meant that there was a male in the picture. If they instead had been single farmers, they might could have encountered this institutional and norm-based discrimination. All together these differences among the cooperatives highlight that a variety of strategies is needed since different locations and context needs different adaptation methods toward sustainability (Pretty, 2008; Hayati et al., 2010).

The major sustainability challenges were according to the farmers the weather and insects related losses, and the low income the cultivation brought. From the farmers perspective there were a great strive to improve those challenges. However, many times those challenges weren’t straight uncomplicated to improve as their current resources not matched the achievability. This can be exemplified by the farmers low income received and the lack of saved financials which together caused obstacles to expand the coffee cultivatio ns or implement more trees. Moreover, this highlights what a major part the economy plays for their improvements and how it affects the achievability of their improvements. For further manage the improvements the farmers pointed out that they needed external help. According to farmer 1 it would be preferable if people with knowledge could come and teach them how to develop their farming systems. Getting external help could contribute to the development of knowledge through an exchange of thoughts and ideas between people with various competences which is seen as one of the main components for achieving a sustainable agriculture (Pretty, 2008). These exchanges could also empower the farmers, by the encouragement for them to use their own knowledge and not get dependent on external inputs which is highly important for a sustainable agriculture (Pretty, 2008). When supporting smallholders in developing countries it could therefore be essential to provide stakes that favor farmers own empowerment.

The challenges the farmers were facing highlight their vulnerability to unpredictable events. Creating resilience in smallholding systems can therefore be essential as it can increases the system's ability to withstand disturbance without affecting its functions (Tendall et al., 2015).

As the major challenges were related to the economic and ecological dimensions a way of creating resilience in those smallholding systems could be to build up economic and ecological capitals, as that would give the farmers capacity to buffer unpredictable events. But to do that, as the results indicate, they need greater financial assets. As the financial resources often is something that is lacking in smallholder agriculture in developing countries its important with external help to achieve sustainability (Pretty, 2008). Preferable to build up the ecological capital could be as the farmers mentioned to introduce more trees in the cultivations as that could imitate traditional coffee systems which contributes to a high biodiversity (Perfecto et al., 2005), which thus mitigate the effects of the reduced biodiversity and infestation of pests and diseases found within the newer coffee growing systems (Ibanez & Blackman, 2016).

Sustaining smallholding coffee systems in Colombia is crucial, as the coffee production in Colombia have a significant impact on the economy for a great amount of people living in rural areas (Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia, 2014). As well as the climate conditions in Colombia is optimal for the cultivations of coffee (Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia, n.d.)

Method and material discussion

SAFA smallholder app When looking into sustainability it’s important to integrate and viewing the ecological, social and economic perspectives, since they are interfering with each other (Kates et. al, 2001; Pretty, 1994). The use of a system-orie nted approach that including all these perspectives is therefore needed when investigating agriculture sustainability, as it gives a holistic picture. According to this, the use of SAFA smallholder sustainability tool was preferable in this study, as it takes into account this holistic grep of sustainability on farms and giving a broad reflection, compared to assessment tools only focusing on one sustainability perspective. Furthermore, if an assessment tool only focus on one perspective it can be assumed that valuable information had been missed out.

Even though the SAFA smallholder sustainability tool made it possible to give a broad reflection of the sustainability on smallholding farms, it does not cover all related parts. This

since agriculture sustainability is a complex topic including many components (Bell and Morse, 2008). As well as the SAFA smallholder app is adjusted from the SAFA framework to a manageable and contextualized tool for smallholders and thereby viewing key parts of the four sustainability dimensions (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015). This further means that the results of this study give a general picture of the sustainability on coffee farms. If this assessment tools perspectives had been deepened, other results might had emerged. In generally it covered many important issues related to agriculture sustainability while a few were missing. The ones I consider was missing were the farmers adaptation to climate changes and the time spent on farming activities contra household activities. The climate change adoption would be of interest as the climate changes is predicting to become higher in intens ity (IPCC, 2018), which mean that the adoption is really important for achieving a sustainable agriculture. The inclusion of the farming activities contra household activities on the other hand would have been valuable as that could have given better indications on the gender equality on the farms and thereby maybe other differences between the farmers.

The fact that SAFA smallholder app uses three different thresholds to indicate sustainability was advantageous, because that easily illustrated the parts that was good and the parts that needed improvements. Advantageous was further that the underlying themes of the sustainability dimensions also were evaluated according to the threshold values, as that enabled more detailed information of what was specifically needed to be improved within the sustainability dimensions, in order to achieve sustainability on the farms. A weaker point, on the other hand, was that the SAFA smallholder app lacked examples of what farmers could do to improve their sustainability spots, which would have been valuable as it would provide guidance on how farmers themselves could achieve sustainability. Another weak point in relation to smallholders in developing countries was that some parts of the survey configuration might not were adapted to suit their context. My experience of such cases was that survey questions to some extent was more relevant to agriculture managements with access to financial capital, which often lacking in smallholder agriculture in developing countries (Méndez et al, 2010). Another thing appearing was that the participants thought it were hard to understand the content of some survey questions, as there were agricultural terms they maybe not were used to, like for example intercropping and hedgerows. Considering that the SAFA survey aims of learning and self-improvement (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015), it would be valuable to make the survey questions more

comprehensive and simplified with more example relevant to smallholders in developing countries context.

Complementing the SAFA smallholder app with the participatory consultation was beneficiary, as it provided deeper information about the farmers sustainability challenges and what was required for implementing them. Moreover, this brought possibilities for them to reflect over new ideas and innovations on how to improve their farms performance (Van de Fliert & Braun, 2002). This kind of methodology also contribute to one of the main things Pretty (2008) point out as important for increasing sustainability, which is the promotion of farmers to use their own knowledge to become more self-reliant. The use of a method triangulation consisting of methods of both qualitative and quantitative character was useful as they complement each other and gave a broad understanding of the results. The quantitative method quantified the sustainability hotspots and gave a visual explanation of the results but did not explain the reason behind, which instead the qualitative method did where the participants define their reasons and ideas in word behind the results from the quantitative part. If there further had been more time to dispose with the farmers, it would have been preferable to further put the knowledge and solutions they come up with in a practical context through trainings sessions. Additionally, a follow up of the SAFA assessment in some years would also be preferable, as it could give information on, if there had been successful improvements and how the they accomplished it.

The strengths and weaknesses of the study The inclusion of women in this study can be seen as preferable according to the pronounced gender roles in agriculture, where the man usually has the main role and the female is in the background (Fridell, 2007; Pineda et al., 2011). This inclusion contributed to their voices being heard as well as they got the opportunity to reflect over things that they normally might not got the possibility to reflect on. A greater inclusion of different actors and groups can further be positive in a sustainable manner as it gives different angles of incidence (Pretty, 1994).

Since this study is based on a survey and semi structured interviews, in which the participants have responded based on their perception without accurate measurements being made, the emerged results therefore have a certain subjectivity. This means that the results should be

interpreted with that in mind. Further the study could have bias due to linguistic difficulties that perhaps could have led to misunderstandings between me and my translator. There could also have emerged bias if the participants did not felt trust to me as an academician from another culture and thereby not felt comfortable responding in the way they wanted. However, having a translator speaking the same language and coming from the same culture as the participants was something I perceived as beneficial. I saw that this eased the atmosphere and might create some trust, by them having common denominator and topics.

Conclusions From this study, it can thus be interpreted that the smallholding coffee systems sustainability are good within some aspects, while it in others would need improvements. The sustainability constraints between the male and female farmers, were mostly found to be alike. Those who differed, were the female farmers difficulty of hiring local labor, which not occurred among the male farmers. Likewise, the male farmers unpreparedness to face risks and emergencies that generally not occurred at the female farmers. These appearing differences could might depend on that female farmers face institutional and norm-based discrimination and therefore have diffic ultie s of hiring, also that they are influence by the female gender role of being caring due to their preparing for risks and emergencies. The greatest sustainability constraints turned out to be related to the crop losses and damages the climate and the insects caused and the low income received for the coffee for the farmers. As the climate changes effects is predicted to become more intense in the future, it can further be presumed that this will put even harder pressure on the farmers, if their economic situation not is improved. Among the farmers there was seen a strong desire to achieve their improvements, but the financial capital often created barriers to their success. Obtaining external advice and help was often therefore seen as an opportunity to achieve their sustainability improvements.

The SAFA smallholder app was not fully suited for smallholders in developing countries context due the use of agricultural terms and questions not relatable for smallholder. However, it's a straightforward sustainability tool which provided a distinct illustration of the strong and the challenging sustainability parts, but to be able to get a full picture of those challenges likewise the improvements, the tool thus would need to be complimented with

another method. Complementing with a participatory consultation was therefore important in this study as it could provide deeper information about both the sustainability challenges and what was required for them to implement them.

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Appendix 1. SAFA smallholder app survey

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2015)

Appendix 2. Semi-structured interview question. Name: Gender: Are you living in a single or a joint household? How many person live on the farm? What is the size in of your farm in hectare? Which are the main crops and products you produce? Do you have any livestock on your farm? For how many hectare do you cultivate coffee? Do you cultivate on a joint or a separate plot?

1. How come that you gave this answer to the survey question? 2. What is the main challenge with this one? 3. Do you have any idea how to improve it? - How and what would you do? - If no, what do you need to improve it? 4. Is this one important to your farm? - In which way? - If no, why not?